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Halverston Manglage
The commander of a group of CLA holdouts from Ulmar's expedition in Detroit, Manglage is one of the oldest members of the CLA. The lone survivor of the Ash-Tear Priests, Manglage has spent almost all of his life avenging the loss of his church, and has combined their beliefs with the nationalistic views of Ulmar. Biography Manglage was born in the winter of 2222 to members of the Ash-tear church and anointed by their god with a cloud of ash that blanketed the temple. His childhood was spent helping in the garden and playing with the few other children in the ruins nearby. As he grew older, he would begin to learn the rituals and rites of his people, as well as how to shoot for guard duty. He participated in his first sacrifice when he was 14, cutting open a drifter so the high priest could remove his bones. Young Halverston would participate in two further rituals, as well as learn how to breed the Komodo dragons his church kept as embodiments of their god. His happiness would end in 2238 when Yarbor Gurns, tired of the attacks on his caravans and villages, led a force of raiders to assault the temple. The cultists would try their best to defend it, but fell quickly against the battle-hardened raiders, with the survivors forced inside. As the raiders flooded into the structure, Halverston tried to make a stand in the animal pen, freeing the dragons. The lizards would kill three raiders but were then killed in turn. Halverston took the supplies from the bodies during this time, but soon found himself under fire, and fled through a storm drain. He wandered in the darkness for hours, emerging through a run-off pipe on the far-side of the ruins.Manglage trekked back to the temple the next day to look for survivors, but found only corpses, which he set about dedicating to the Ash god. Afterward he declared revenge upon Gurns and set out for The Peg. On the way Manglage came upon a trio of raiders, and believing them to be Gurns' men, drew the combat rifle he took in the siege and prepared to fire, but heard a gun cocking behind him. When he turned he saw another three standing there, who proceeded to disarm and interrogate him. Manglage told them about his promise of vengeance and cursed them, which amused the raiders, who set him free and told him they prey off the Peg and Gurns. The cultist joined this group and helped raid caravans over the next few months, impressing the others with his violence and esoteric rituals. He would be elected leader of the band halfway through 2239 after the previous one died, and started recruiting as well as increasing the frequency of raids. This combination helped build him a reputation in the ruins as 'the bone priest' due to his practices, and the bones he kept tied to his clothes. This notoriety would lead to his band being targeted however, and they spent 2240 fight a series of skirmishes with raiders from The Peg, almost discovering Trapper Town in one such incident. Down to six by the next Thaw, Manglage moved the group west of the ruins, to prey on lesser farming villages that supported The Peg. They would evade Gurns' soldiers as they took food and supplies, slowly rebuilding their strength as they ambushed their rivals. This continued for the rest of the decade as Manglage gave into his hate, sacrificing anyone his group came across, whether they were affiliated with the warlord or not. This continued until the word reached him that Gurns' had been killed, which gave him pause. Not knowing what else to do however, the group kept on raiding, aided by the chaos of the civil war. They also maintained their ambushes of former loyalists, with Manglage sacrificing them whenever possible. He would have a close brush with retirement in 2251, when his crew was ambushed in camp one night, Manglage was shot twice before he again escaped. He managed to limp his way back to the Ash temple, which had long since fallen into disrepair, and try to mend the wounds. What supplies had survived the siege had long since been scavenged, but he managed to find an old pair of tweezers which he used to pry the bullets from his chest. Lacking any bandages to staunch the bleeding however, he would pass out. In this near death state, Manglage saw several tears rising up and burning the land, which he knew was the embodiment of god. These tears then formed a great blanketing cloud that covered him in a warm embrace, and began to fill his wounds. He awoke feeling strong, and found his wounds closed. Manglage then heard footsteps echoing throughout the temple, and grabbed his rifle to meet the intruders. It turned out a pair of scavengers had stumbled old terminus unaware of it's post war history, and were promptly shot in the back of their legs and bound with their clothes. Halverson then cut them open and smashed their bones in thanks, before he headed back to the ruins and looked for another crew. He found them after thaw in 2252, having wandered alone growing his reputation, he came across two bands having a firefight. Recognizing one group as former soldiers of Gurns, he intervened against them, turning the battle. The surviving raiders gladly took him in and Manglage continued his savage antics for several more years. This changed when his band joined another called The Red Men led by Cal Ulmar, in 2257. Here he had a chance to offer up the remainder of Gurns' raiders, though regular wasters would not be sacrifices. Despite this, Manglage slowly grew to Ulmar's talk to nationalism, viewing it from the last god-cycle, but after a vision would accept that the remnants of the past must be cleared away for the new. Despite this and their proximity, Ulmar and Manglage would not grow close, with the latter kept to himself in camp and his rituals were off-putting to most of the others. Regardless he was a respected member of the group, and was present when they met the Peggers in 2265. He remained in favor of ambushing them, but followed Ulmar's lead and him to parlay. Manglage was uncaring of the merger, but fell in with the newcomers regardless. The announcement of the expedition south-east stirred excitement in him however, with Manglage wanting to practice new rituals given to him in dreams. These attracted some interest from a few of the other raiders, mostly as a novelty, though as they progressed farther, the group started to bond and Manglage even opened up to them. Time in Detroit His sense of comradeship would deepen as they reached Detroit and claimed a base area from one of the weaker gangs, and he even gave these friends a small blessing to celebrate this. The initial months of this occupation was a quick one in the minds of the Canadians, with Manglage fantasizing about sacrificing the city by year's end. 2271 opened with the invaders reassessing their time-frame, but still optimistic. Manglage would be part of the detachment sent to clear out Oakland county north of Detroit, and enjoyed leaving his offerings in the streets and burned-out camps of the locals. The resident warlord would be harder to defeat than the unorganized gangs and raider crews, but not by much. Her stronghold would be looted & gutted and her settlements would be made to pay tribute to the CLA. The rest of the year was spent mopping up hold-outs and feral ghouls, as well as ensuring the subjugation of the local settlements. Ironically this would be the task that Manglage found wrong, as he viewed the badly burned creatures as the chosen of the Ash-God. Regardless, his detachment secured a foothold in the north, and was ordered to neighboring Maycomb county to do the same. It would be here in mid-2272 that Manglage was put in charge of his detachment, leading the 20 strong group against fortified suburbs. Progress would be slower here, with Manglage and his band forced to move through the sewers to keep in contact with Ulmar and avoid hostile patrols. They would soon grow frustrated with one particular checkpoint at Oak & 9th, and by the end of 2273 simply piled explosives under it and detonated them, collapsing the houses around it. As time went on Manglage's crew grew bitter about the slow progress, and increased their attack on civilians, with Manglage even inducting his fellows into his cult. In early 2274 they were sent south of 8 Mile into Detroit proper, where they ran wild with excess, spending ore time cutting open wasters than fighting the various factions. The raiders still saw plenty of combat however, with the band cut down to 15 by the end of the year. Progress was much slower in the ruins, though great sport was had burning camps and farmsteads. Scavenge was also plentiful in those early years, with the collection of hood-ornaments being a trend among some raiders. Manglage would set up his band in a small park on the shores of Lake Michigan, where they penned-in mirelurks according to the Ash-Tear beliefs. From there they stuck at the city and returned laden down with prizes and trophies. The raiders also constructed a radio array and listened in on the chaotic chatter of the city beyond, and would add to it with their chants. Manglage's band would also harass the Rafters plying the lake and supplying the Americans, which provoked the first attack on their camp. They were also some of the first to greet the reinforcements from across the lake, attracted by the tales of riches and slaves. By 2276 Halverston had a notable following in the ranks but had no desire to seize control, and instead maintained his group on the lake. Some of this fighting would invite the Toronto pack of Badlanders, who were concerned about the army growing in Detroit, and talk that they defeated a pack in Manitoba. To that end several squads were sent over, and attacked two of the CLA's patrols, skinning them to warn the raiders. Manglage was amused when he heard this, and the 54-year old would personally lead the reprisal attacks, which quickly escalated into running battles through-out the area. He made a point of smashing every mask from killed Badlanders before smashing their bones, which made him a prime target for their kill squads. He exploited this in early 2277, occupying a recently claimed gas-station. He had his guard hang his personal banner on the roof, and start broadcasting chants. This drew the badlanders in as expected, who began riddling the building with bullets and explosives before closing in. Having anticipated this, Manglage took his men into the sewers under the building and wired the tunnel with mines and grenades, before they emerged into a nearby house. Once he saw the Badlanders get closer to confirm the body, he detonated the charges, collapsing the street and signaling his followers to attack. Few of the tribals survived, and every bone was smashed over two days of rituals, with the corpses fed to the lurks. He spent the rest of the year destroying nearby slave markets and rafter camps, having labeled them 'the bones of resistance'. Manglage and the CLA started to face more organizing resistance as the locals had tired of these newcomers, and the raiders were forced on the defensive. This would help build his following however, as his rituals and charms seemed to keep him from harm, and more of his subordinates asked to be inducted into the cult. In May of that year Manglage's men raided another radio station, and gutted it, which they used to construct a stronger transmitter at their camp. Now with a proper set-up, Halverston stepped his broadcasts into overdrive, and implored the raiders not only to purge the city, but for the people of Toronto to drive out the Badlanders. By 2279 the war was beginning to turn against the raiders, with the locals coordinating attacks on the CLA, forcing Manglage to booby-trap the dead with mines. The situation would change even more when word reached the group of Tarleton's death in the Badlands Territory, and Ulmar's announcement that they would return west. Unwilling to lose his church again,, Halverston ordered further fortifications to their camp, placing mines, turrets, spot-lights and alarms gathered over years of raids, as well as walls and trenches. These were built mainly by slaves before they were sacrificed, and by the time Ulmar's raiders left Detroit, Manglage's compound was complete. It would be put to the test almost immediately as the locals, furious and exhausted from a decade of slaughter, stormed the walls. For days Manglage led to defense from the front, moving to where the battle was thickest chanting prayers and rallying his followers. After a week of this the locals withdrew, leaving over a hundred dead and wounded on the field. For their part the raiders were halved to 43, with most of those wounded. Manglage himself evaded damage, which served to cement his legend, and he let the city know the outcome of the battle with a single word broadcast; "unbroken." Since then he has become much more selective with his raids and spends most of his time on the radio and teaching his acolytes advanced ceremonies & rituals. He has survived seven assassination attempts, four of them by the Badlanders, and is content with the current state of affairs, though he does radio his status west and ask for reinforcements every few months. Appearance & Equipment Halverston is a short but intense man, still with streaks of brown in his gray hair. His eyes are blue, and his otherwise pale body is covered in mystical symbols and tattoos. He is always seen in a black & green robe and tennis shoes, with a decorated combat rifle on his back, a constant reminder of Gurns' siege. He has also taken to carrying a bandolier of magazines and a 10mm smg taken from a Badlander assassin, as well as a worn combat knife used to remove bones. Personality While Manglage was a fairly happy child and teen, he became consumed with hate after his family and home was destroyed. Fifty years of indulging that hate has burned him out, to the point that he only gains joy by cutting out and smashing someone's bones. He does feel some slight attachment to his followers, but only because they've come to his faith. Despite this he does feel some respect for Ulmar, though only has true alligence to his god. Category:Raiders Category:Characters